Baby Carrot
by MaudIsCountingTheDays
Summary: One-shot. A little heart-to-heart talk between Ginny and Bill. FLuff. Set after OOTP.


A/N: JK is still the queen. And no, characters are not mine. :)

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><p>It was the first Sunday back in The Burrow. For innumerable times in ages, Ginny woke up gasping for air and drenched in cold sweats as though she had been running for miles. Her nightmares are becoming increasingly regular since the fiasco at the Ministry of Magic. It took her a good full minute to realize she was at home safely in her warm bed and miles away from the situs of her nightmare, the Department of Mysteries.<p>

The sky was still dark outside and the moon was the only source of light. The open windows sent some waves of chilly wind every now and then. Feeling fully awake, she decided to go to the kitchen and grab something to drink.

She had expected it to be empty but it was not. When she reached the door she heard the soft clinking of spoon against delicate china. Someone was making coffee. Thinking it was probably her Mother, she pushed the door open and saw the back of the man she least expected to see.

"I'm actually half-expecting it was you," Bill, her oldest brother, greeted her with a warm grin. "Come, I made two cups."

Still unable to grapple the certainty of Bill's presence in the kitchen, she flung herself to an enormous hug towards her favourite brother sending small amount of coffee in all directions in the process.

"I thought you're away." Ginny said still not releasing Bill from the bone-crushing embrace "Mum said you're abroad for the Order. I missed you so much."

Bill returned the hug and they stayed that way for a minute or so. When Ginny let go, they sat in old wooden chairs facing each other. He placed a warm mug of steaming coffee in her hand.

"I came back last night, everyone's in bed except Mum and Dad. I checked on you the minute I settled my things. You're not sleeping very well." Bill eyed her sister carefully; concern and anxiety etched through his handsome face.

"Nightmares." She said simply. She knew he would understand after all, she wrote to him almost everyday following Voldemort's possession of her in her first year. Her lips quivered for a moment, she didn't want her thoughts to wander in those memories either.

Bill held her hand. It was rough and a bit more scarred than she remembered. He played his thumb on the back of her hand and draw small circles in it. It was like the old days. When all her problems were about how annoying Fred and George were. And how immature Ron could be. And how overprotective mum was. Why can't it be like that again? Tears peered slightly in her eyes and she brushed them off with her free hand.

"Hey baby carrot," She hated it when he calls her that, but at that moment she didn't mind. "Spill."

It took her some moments before she respond, "The last time," she whispered "you were old enough to remember, right? That last war, before Harry stopped him. Was it like this?" Because if she was being honest with herself, she couldn't imagine things being worse than they are that moment.

"The last war? It was worse." Bill thought for a moment, his tone dead serious "They were outnumbered and You-know-who was finishing the Order one-by-one. It was like living through a very realistic nightmare. Dark Marks hovering a home was a common thing and our side has little advantage due to fear. And last time, Dumbledore's Army wasn't born yet." He added that last part with a wink.

Ginny smiled a bit and pondered for a moment. Somehow it made her feel slightly better. She closed her eyes and snapshots of the events in the Ministry played before her eyes, like they always did, but in some way, they were more tolerable. She opened her eyes and said, "Thank you. It was never easy closing my eyes until now."

"What you did out there was very brave. And based on what I've heard, you were really impressive and exceptional too..." he smiled that warm grin again and for a moment, his tired eyes were young again. He composed himself and then continued, "But I'd like you to know, whether you like it or not – I don't care if you have faced You-Know-Who or battled against his demented Death Eaters or have famous-hero boyfriend – for me, you will always be that baby girl who liked to chase cats. You will never grow up to me, baby carrot."

Ginny, for the first time in days, felt relieved. She freed her hand from her brother's soft grasp and gave him that enormous hug again.

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><p><em>Thoughts please? :)<em>


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